Adjustable seat



M y 1953 c. w. DEMAREST ETAL 2,637,369

ADJUSTABLE SEAT Filed Feb. 2. 1950 s Sheets-Sheet 1 4 CHARLES WDEMAREsT,

JOHN n mucus/my,

uvmvrom.

A TTOR/VEY.

y 1953 c. w. DEMAREST ET AL 2,637,369

ADJUSTABLE SEAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2, 1950 CHARLES m 054449551,JOHN 7: W/LLOUGHBY,

- INVENTORS.

BY 97 A ATTORNEK y 1953 c. w. DEMAREST ETAL 2,637,369

ADJUSTABLE SEAT Z5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 2, 1950 m E m w. 0 m a L mm JOHN 7i WILLOUGHBY,

INVENTORJZ A TTORNEK "which new; members were Patented May 5, 1953UNITED STATES OFFICE ADJUSTABLE SEAT tion of Delaware ApplicationFebruary 2, 1950, Serial No. 142,056

6 Claims.

This invention relates to adjustable seats and more particulany to aseat for an operator of a vehicle, such as an aircraft or automobile,where the position or the seat relative to operati'ofialinstrume'iltali'ties must be Varied to accommodate operators of varyingstature.

The seat of the present invention, althoughparticula'rly adapted for useas "a pilots seat for aircraft, is not necessarily limited to such a usefor, as will be seen, the seat can be used in any field where thespatial change or position or'hie seat of the present invention isrequired or desirable.

As the statures of pilots operating all aircraft varies, a fixed seatcan not be used with the same 'eificiency as a seat having means foradjusting the spatial relationship of the seat and such controlinstrument'alities as rudder operators and the like, Such anadjustment'can be had by pro- 'viding means for moving the seat in afore and aft path substantially parallel with the longitudihal axis ofthe aircraft. Such an adjustment, although it provides means for varyingthe distance between the seat and fixed control elements, does notprovide an elevational or vertical adjustment necess'aryto accommodatepilots or small stature as such pilots must be supported at a positionhigherthan pilots of larger stature er efiic'iehcy of action,particularly over long periods of time.

Seats have been hereto-fore proposed in which the seat proper, that isthe chair-like element including a seat and a baclr rest have beenmounted for movement on track "members fixed to the hear of theoperators compartment and inclined upwardly and rm- ""dly .oi the floor.These prior seats were generally so supported on the track members thata force applied forwardly on the seat produced not only a forwardmovement of the but a rising one as Well. A backwardly applied forceproduced a converse compound movement or the'seat rmthe seat not onlymoved a rearward direction but in a descending one "as wen.

Such seats, although they produced the spatial adjustment desired, havenot been successfully uses for 'a number of reasons, particularly as api'lots seat. All aircraft structures are often times subject to highstress loads and these :prior {seats could not be constructed to -takethe high loads encountered and still provide the ease 40f {adiustmentnecessary. was generally due to the tact that the means holding the seatin a desired position of adjustment on the track amemherswereesulojectcd to high noncentrate'd stresses whenever loads, arisingthrough crash landings or sudden changes in direction of flight oracceleration of the aircraft, were imposed on the seat.

The seat of the present invention, as previously mentioned, isparticularly adapted for use in aircraft for it includes a supportingstructure which provides the necessary adjustment and yet will take theextremely high stress loads oftentimes encountered in the flight of anaircraft. The supporting structure comprises a pair of tubular trackelements adapted to be mounted within the pilots compartment to extendupwardly and forwardly within this compartme'nnt. The seat proper, whichincludes a seat element and 'a back rest, is supported between the trackelements through carriages movable therealong and rigidly fixed to theopposite sides of the seat. The seat is, therefore, suspended betweenthe track and as the carriages are movable longitudinally of the trackelements, the seat is movable in a path fixed by the track elements. Asthet'rack elements extend upwardly and forwardly in the compartment,movement of the carriages and consequently the seat in one directionproduces a forward as well as an ascending movement of the seat whilemovement of the carriages in the opposite direction produces a rearwardas well as a, descending movement of the seat.

As the carriages include means engaging the opposite surfaces of thetrack elements, all forces exerted on the seat are carried through thecarriages to the tubular track elements which are designed andconstructed to take the h h .concentration loads which can be expected.

Each carriage is formed with a detent means engageable with cooperatingmeans of the track element on which it is movably mounted for hold-- ingthe carriages in preselected positions on the track elements. Thus theseat can bemoved into and held in a desired position of adjustmentwithin the pilots compartment. The deitlent means serve merely .as ameans for holding the carriages in predetermined positions on the trackelements and do not take the loads imposed on the chair due to crashlandings, sudden changes of direction, and acceleration. Thisstnucturalarrangement obviates the difiiculties had in previouslyproposed chairs mounted .on track elements inclined to floor structurefor in such chairs, the means holding the chair inthedesiredposition ofadjustment relative to the track elements generally took the loadsimposed on the chair in the flight of the aircraft.

To facilitate the ease of adjustment {of the chair of the presentinvention, resilient means are included for normally urging eachcarriage to a position at the upper end of the track elements. Thismeans is so incorporated into the supporting structure that the chairwill normally be urged upwardly and forwardly of the compartment if thepilot tends to remove his weight from the seat proper. Thus, as soon asthe detent means are moved out of engagement with the cooperating meanson the track elements and the pilot raises his body from the seatproper, the latter will move upwardly and forwardly within thecompartment.

On the other hand if the detent means are released from engagement withthe cooperating means on the track elements, the weight of the pilot andhis gear is just sufficient to overcome the thrust of the resilientmeans to the end that the carriages will slowly move downwardly of thetrack elements to a new position within the pilots compartment. Once theseat has moved into the desired new position of adjustment within thecompartment, the detent means can again be released for engagement withthe cooperating means of the track elements to hold the seat in the newposition of adjustment.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will behereinafter apparent from the following description, particularly whentaken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the chair of the presentinvention shown mounted within the compartment of an aircraft;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the chair;

Figure 3 is a section taken along line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view in elevation taken from the positionindicated by line 44 of Figure 5; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section and partly inelevation, and showing on an enlarged scale the supporting structure ofthe seat.

The adjustable seat of the present invention, referring now to thedrawing and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 thereof, comprises achair-like element which forms the seat proper and includes a seatmember H and a back rest I 2. The back rest comprises a sheet metalpanel [3 formed with laterally extending side members or wings M, thefree edges of which are smoothly curved as shown in Figure l, and rolledto form a cylindrical strengthening element i coextensive with the freeedges and receiving a rod-like reinforcing member, not shown. The seatmember I I, also formed of a suitable sheet metal, is connected to andsupported by the back rest and to this end the lower free edges of thepanel i3 and side members M of the back rest are formed with inturnedflanges, not shown, to which the seat member is rigidly fixed byfastening elements, such as rivets.

The forward edges of the seat member H is provided with an upturnedflange [8, the opposite edges of which are secured by rivets H to theinturned flanges I 8 carried by the forward edges of the side members [4of the back rest l2. A rolled reinforcing element i8 is fixed to theupper edges of the flange it which may be cut away centrally thereof, asshown, to form a footreceiving depression 2 I, the purpose of which willbe hereinafter more fully explained.

To reinforce the seat I U, a torsion resisting element 22 is preferablymounted at the intersec-- tion of the seat member H and the back rest i2.

This element, as best seen in Figure 5, is formed by suitably shaping asheet metal member and connecting the same between the adjacent innerfaces of the side members I 4 as well as to the contiguous faces of thepanel l3 of the back rest l2 and the upper face of the seat member I I.It will be seen that the box-like frame member thus formed will renderthe seat extremely rigid and highly resistant to twisting forces.

To further reinforce the seat and to render the same extremely rigid forthe gauge of the metal used to fabricate the elements thereof, thelatter may be formed with a plurality of spaced, integral reinforcingcolumns such as indicated at 23.

It will be seen that the seat member H and its flange [6, the sidemembers or wings M, the back rest I2, and the forwardly facing wall ofthe torsion resisting frame 22 form a box-like receptacle which is ofsuch a size and shape as to receive a seat pack parachute and other gearsuch as used by pilots today.

The seat I0 is mounted between spaced apart track elements formed, inthe illustrated embodiment of the invention, by a pair of relativelyheavy walled, tubular members 24. The members 24 are mounted within thepilots compartment of the ship at an angle inclined to the vertical andextend upwardly and forwardly within the compartment in parallelrelationship.

In the now preferred embodiment of the invention, the tubular members 24are mounted at their lower ends in socket elements 25 provided withangularly related mounting flanges 26 and 2! adapted to be held,respectively, in facewise engagement with the floor member 28 and abulkhead 29 defining in part the pilots compartment of the aircraft.Each flange is secured to its respective structural part by fasteningelements, such as the bolts shown at 3|. A fastening element, such asthe bolt 32, holds the lower end of each tubular member 24 in itsrespective socket element 25.

It will be seen that the longitudinal axis of each socket member 25extends upwardly and forwardly of the floor element 28 and consequentlyholds each tubular member 24 in a corresponding position. To rigidlyhold each of the tubular members 24 in the desired position within thepilots compartment, the upper end of each member carries a laterallyextending socket element 33 in each of which is securely mounted the oneend of an elongate tubular support 34. The opposite free ends of thesupports 34 are secured within socket members 35, each formed with amounting flange 36 rigidly bolted to the bulkhead 29 at positions spacedupwardly from the floor member 28.

It will be seen now that the track elements formed by the tubularmembers 24 are rigidly mounted within the pilots compartment in a spacedapart parallel relationship and each extends upwardly and forwardly withrespect to the fore and aft axis of the aircraft, which for the purposeof clearly locating the position of the track elements can be assumed tobe substantially parallel to the plane of the floor member 28.

The seat It) is suspended between the track elements formed by thetubular members 24 through carriage means which, in the illustratedembodiment of the present invention, comprise tubular castings 3!sleeving or circumscribing the members 24 and movable longitudinally ofthe same. Each casting is provided with a pair of mounting flanges 38extending outwardly from the opposite sides thereof The flanges 38 are'iji g-idli'l seen" ii to 'i'eiativeiy :hea fi/ mete-1 mates positesieesbi t ieeeat it an imithe saiiie. The piat'es 3'}! are in place a'ssiiown, anti are "paced epeni gs for pja'sSing bolts to mount "the flanes 6f the him-ages m''d by the Eds "tings 3 1 t the cute:- Titties ofthe plates. 7 It should be understood "new that seat Ii! is subpoited bythe tubular 2 1 and is movable with the carriage means '2? in a "hath"or 'inteimedi'ate and guest-anti" 11y fiaiaiieI to the longitudinalaxes of the members 2 4. Thus as the carriage 'ns inches: from afptis'i'tioii adjacent "the Tower ends of the "tumul'ar members towarethe upper ends thereof, the seat w ll "move an army and iorwafiiiy of enthe cainage means 11 ati'jae'ent the upper ends I eis 2 toward the lower"ends tl'iereo'i, the seat wiii move downwardly and lafwa idljWithinfth'e -60in{Daftin ?fit.

It 'wili also be seen tifi'at an unusual loads app1 i'e'd to the seatwill be taken my the track e ements thiollgh the carriages 73? heed toseat. These elements, farmer of relatively heavy Walled tubuiar members,are highly resistant to stress loads and are mounted to stress carryingstru ture of the aircraft th'roiigh anchoring in'einbers designed totake relatively high load- 'ing's.

It is now ine'feired to incorporate into the Seat supporting structurenieans tending to 'normai'iy urge the carriages fc iin'ed by thecastings i ubtvafi ly of "the tubular members 24. Although a number of'nieans can be c -ed to bring about this movement oi the carriage means,it is new preferreci to use a we of torsion springs 12 sieeving a torquetube E3 transversely mounted. beneath the seat member H and. arch-latelymovable in a path fixer-l by a pair of links it pi"- ctaiiy interconnecing each end of the torque tube with the adjacent socket member ends ofthe links M connected to the socket members can he pivotally seen-Yetithereto by the bolts 32 which hold the lower ends of the tubular membersWithin the sockets.

Eaeh link it is -pivota11y connected to one oi the opposite ends of thetorque tube at a point spaced from the free end of the link anti theportion of the iinia beyond the pivotal connection the torque tube takesthe torque thrust of-one 0-; thetorsion enringsAZ.

it! used This may be easily aceenipiished hr; farming the V tree enci ofeach i-in-i: M with a tater-ally extending finger which is 'enga e-rlwith the outer end of the adjacent ihe op- :pes-ite or inner ends of thesprings 42 are fixed to the torque tube 23 by bolts 2 i carried by eyesformed at the inner enei's oi the springs and passed through the torquetube 53 and held by conventional nuts. Fixed to the cnpoeite ends of thetorque tube are rigid, ieteraiiy extending arms "Mi, the free end ofeach arm leeing pivotaiiy 'connected by means of a bolt 49 to themounting flange -38 of the adjacent casting 3?.

The Springs are mounted in such a mam her that the ends engaged with thefingers oi the Links M teni to swing the links at up- "when, "as inFiguies and in the dir'eeti'on of the aridt? "5! shown Figure the torquetube $3, on the Other 'ha na, 'appiy ii -ow t2 'iil'ustratei Figure 5,to thi 's the rigid aim '48 baiii'e'dat obbo'site enii's b. the tube inthe direction of the arrows 53, that is, in a counterelockwise an-eatenas viewed in Figure 5. V r

H a result of the forces exertedjoy the springs 42, there is, th 'cuh'th e arins '48, a force app lie'd to the castings 3! havin an upwe'rdiydirected component which tende to Move the "same upwardly of the tubulartrace-element's 213. A1- though the forces transmitted by the arms 48 tothe castings 3'1 are not coaxiall'y directed rel-aeve thereto, theupward y iiiiected combonent thereof nevertheless is aiways so directedthat torque iorces tothe tube 43- in the direction of the ca's 'hg'swillihove upwardly of the tubular track members 24. springs er difie'rent sizes and. shapes may be used, although the Tomes "created by thesprings t?! should aiw'aye be sufficie'ntiy great to raise thee'ntirefsea t member so that the seat will move upwardly to the extentpoefsible if no leads are carried by the seat.

To reduce friction losses, the castings 37 each eaiiy roller elements54, which, as clearly shown in Figure 1, are rotatably carried at epp'qste ends of the castings}? and "on opposite sides thereof so that theroller elements of each castihg engage diametrically Jspa'c'ed. portionsof the tubular track element 2' 1 circumscribed by the casting to whichthey are mounted. Each roller element 5% is preferably formedwitli aperipherally extending groove for receiving, the cylindri cal surface ofthe track element over which the roller moves.

I To hold the seat in some preselected desired position other than theextreme elevated position "to which it is normally urged by the springs:12, means are provided for holding the carriages 3 in any one of aplurality of positions along the track "elements 243 Infthe preferredembodi- 'ment of the intention illustrated, this means 'coinp'rises apin 55 sligiabiy mounted in an opening termed in a boss 56 integral witheach casting -31. The pin 55 of eaeh cairiage is adapted to he receivedwithin any one "of a plurality of spaced apertures 51' formed in thewall of the tubular track element 21 3 over which the car- "riag'emoves. The pins 55 are normally urged into positions in which they areengageabie with the apertures 57 although 'aetuating means are previewfor withdrawing the pins from the apertures in Which they are engaged topermit the I carriages formed by the castings 31 to be moved "at therear of the 'ba'cli "members 5e "are io'tatably passed through alignedlongitudinally of the track elements 24.

The 'pin actuating mechanism, "referring now to Figure 5, comprises apair of arms 5'8 each heving one "end pivotally connected to the outerje'nd j-of a pm with the opposite end fixed to a wearing member 5'3. Thebearing members are he escopi'c'aily iitted over the opposite ends of aunique 'tnh'e hi extending "t si eiselyof the seat rest '12. The bearingif; three fofmed in the plates "39 fixed as above desciiiied toopi'aofsite sides or the seat it. Each hearing member as is 'se'e'ufedto the end of the torque tube to which it 'iste'1eseopica11y mounted 12yfastening element, such "as the bolt ti, and rotates or jrevoives withthe tube.

ar m filhh'avin'g one rigidly fixed to the tor ue tube in, extendsaownwarciy therefrom is pivotaiiy co nect-ea at its ii lower "end bymeans of a suitabie pivetai "c n tion 6 to eerie-ate aetu'ati'ng uni; e5d sposea beneath the member ii and extending forwardl to terminate in abifurcated terminal member 66. Secured pivotally between the tines ofthe terminal member 66 is one end of an arm 61 rigidly connected at itsopposite end to one leg 68 of an L-shape operating member 69. The leg 68is rotatably mounted in aligned apertures formed in a U-shape mountingbracket 10 secured to the undersurface of the seat member II, which thelonger leg extends upwardly through an elongate slot formed in a guidemember 1| fixed to the face of one of the wing or side members [4.

A torsion spring 12 sleeving the leg 68 has one end anchored to the arm61 while its opposite end is anchored to a fixed pin 13 connecting thetwo legs of the U-shaped bracket 10 and reinforcing the same.

The spring 12, mounted to the leg 68, is so arranged that the arm 61 isurged in a counterclockwise direction to draw the link 65 to the left,as viewed in Figure 5. This movement of the link 65 in turn moves thearm 63 in a clockwise direction and consequently the torque tube 6| isalso rotated in a clockwise direction to conjointly swing each of thearms 58 in the same direction and urge the pin 55 connected thereto intoan aperture 51 upon registry of an aperture with the opening of the boss56 in which the pin is mounted. It will thus be seen that the spring 12tends to maintain the pins 55 engaged in a selected pair of apertures 51which will hold the carriages formed by the castings 31 against movementlongitudinally of the track elements 24.

To withdraw the pins 55 from the apertures with which they are engaged,the L-shaped operating member 69, normally held in the positionillustrated in Figure by the spring 12, can be moved in a clockwisedirection which results, by the arm and linkage mechanism justdescribed, in a counterclockwise movement of the arms 58 to which thepins 55 are pivotally connected. This movement of the arms 58, as bestshown in Figure 3, will withdraw the pins 55 from the apertures in whichthey are engaged to free the carriages 31 for movement longitudinally ofthe track elements 24.

In the use of the seat of the present invention, a pilot may change hisspatial position within the pilots compartment easily and without anygreat exertion, for after the pins 55 have been withdrawn from theapertures to which they are engaged, by merely raising himself from theseat [0, the latter will move upwardly and forwardly within thecompartment because of the thrust component brought about by the torsionsprings 42 and their related structure interconnecting the torque tube43 and the castings 31.

When the seat [0 has been moved upwardly and forwardly in thecompartment to the spatial position desired by the pilot, he can thenrelease the operating member 69 which, through the action of the spring12 as should now be understood, will result in movement of the pins 55into a position in which each pin will immediately engage an aperture 51upon alignment of the aperture with the bore in which the pin ismounted. Once the pins 55 are engaged with the aperture formed in thetrack members 24, continued upward movement of the carriages arearrested and the seat will be held in the desired preselected positionof spatial adjustment within the compartment.

'I'o lower the seat as well as to move it rearwardly within thecompartment, the pilot remains seated and merely moves the operatingmember 69 in a, clockwise direction which, as previously explained,withdraws the pins from the apertures in which they have been engaged.In the absence of the torsion springs 42, the carriages 31 andconsequently the seat l9 would immediately move to the lowest positionof adjustment possible. As the torsion springs tend to move thecarriages 31 upwardly of the track elements 24, they consequently resistdownward movement of the seat due to the weight of the pilot and hisgear.

By a careful selection of the springs 42, the same can be made to almostovercome the downwardly directed force on the seat I!) created by theweight of the pilot and his gear to the end that the carriages 31 moveslowly down the tracks 24 upon withdrawal of the pins 55 from theapertures with which they were engaged. When the seat has been movedownwardly and rearwardly into the new position of adjustment desired bythe pilot, the operating member 69 is released after which the spring 12will again indirectly move each pin 55 into engagement with an aperture51 as soon as the aperture moves into alignment with the bore in whichthe pin is slidably mounted to hold the seat in the new position ofadjustment.

The pilot need not be seated to adjust the position of the seat for hemay place his one foot in the depression 2| and apply the desired forcedownwardly after the pins 55 have been withdrawn from the track elementsto move the chair downwardly to any one of the positions defined by theapertures 51. It is possible, of course, to adjust the seat upwardly bythis procedure by merely applying a force sufficient to slow down theaction of the springs 42 when the operating member 69 has been moved tothe position necessary to release or withdraw the pins 55.

It might be pointed out here that the socket members 33 form stopelements for limiting upward movement of the carriages 31. It will beseen, referring now to Figure 1, that engagement of each upper rollerelement 54 with the undersurface of each socket 33 prevents furthermovement of the carriages 31. Thus it is not necessary for the pilot tofish for the uppermost set of apertures 51. Instead he may merelywithdraw the pins 55 and allow the springs 42 to move the carriagesupwardly to the limit position defined by engagement of the upper rollerelements 54 with the socket members 33.

It should be seen now that the seat of the present invention is onewhich permits, with little exertion on the part of the occupant, spatialadjustment of the position of the seat within a compartment. The amountof forward movement of the seat of the present invention relative to theamount of vertical movement can, of course, be varied by merely varyingthe angularity of the track elements 24. For example, if a seat isdesired which moves forwardly a greater amount than it does vertically,the track elements 24 may be mounted at a greater angle from thevertical. The reverse is, of course, also true for if the track elementsare mounted at a smaller angle to the vertical than herein shown, thechair will move vertically a greater distance than it will horizontally.

An important feature of the chair of the present invention is the easeof adjustment, which, as previously explained, is due in most part tothe particular arrangement of the torsion springs 42 and theirassociated elements which coact together to move the carriages 31 upha lw h We shtoi e i ot s artial y rem'ed from the seat'and which coacttogether i X 'l 'w t eat he the nti Weight of the pilot and is gear istaken'by the seat. The seat'is designed to take relatively highloadswhich might be produced by either change of acceleration ordirection offli'ght of the airplane, or by a crash landing; 'It shouldbe appreciated that thetrack elements '24 and the means used tomountthese elements are well able to take extremely high forces; This isalso true of thecarriage means, formed by the castings 31 and the rollerelements 54, and which 'arerigidly mounted to high stress resistingplates rigidly fixed to the seat proper. The pins 55, unlike similardetent means used in previously proposed chairs, are not subject toloads imposed on' the chair such as would be the "case upon a "crashlanding. The 'pins 55 merely'hold the carriage meansagainst movementonce they are engaged with the apertures 57! formed in the'wall ofthetubular track elements 24. Although the weight of the pilot and his gearare in part taken by the pins 55, there is little danger of the pinsbeing sheared off as they can be easily designed to take relatively highshear as well as' compression loads.

Although the now preferred embodiment of the seat of the presentinvention has been shown and described herein, the invention is not tobe limited thereto, for it is susceptible to changes in form and detailwithin the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An adjustable seat for an operator of a ve-, w

hicle having an operators compartment defined in part by a substantiallyvertical wall extending transversely of said vehicle, compris ng: a pairof: elongate tubular track elements; means spacedly fixed to the lowerextremity of sa d wall for mounting the W r ends of said track elementsto said wall; an elongate support element ri i ly n e co n e up er en ofch tr ck e e en a sai Well a a os t n pa upwardly irom said mountingmeans, said support element rigidly holding the upper ends of;

tracl; elements forwardly spaced from said wall whereby said trackelements extend in par:

allelism upwardly and forwartlly of said wall; a chair-like memberincluding a seat element and a bacl; rest; and tubular carriage meansfixed to opposite sides of said member and each sleeving the adjacenttrack element for mounting said member to said track elements formovement in a path intermediate and substantially parallel to said trackelements whereby the position of said memberwithin said compartment canbe varied. An adjustable seat of the type described for use in" an"operators compartment, comprising: a" pair of support elements inclinedto the vertical forwardly relative to said compartment; a body receivingmember including a seat and a back rest; carriage means fixed toopposite sides of said body receiving member and engageable with saidsupport means for movement therealong and movably mounting said bodyreceiving member between said support elements; a bar transverselyextending of said body receiving member; means associated with saidcarriage means for mounting said bar for movement in a fixed arcuatepath; means, including a torsion spring sleeving and engaging said bar,engaging said bar mounting means and normally acting to simultaneouslyurge said carriage means to positions at the upper ends of said supportelements it is to be understood that wher by s d b r e i memb r is nmally used e l l in h th ub t n i ll area o ai l pped e ement tewerd anle a v0. he e ative to sa d ee ed ele ent a d ns ncludin mean e abl b atwhen by t e be n recei n memb r fo h in ea. ar a e essee ge nst.mevementw 'r i ant s. e-i ca n member. a e h ld in. apr ed d.- si ienlative o; Sa u po s n es.

An ad ust b e seet or ate' a W m le. le es an oper tor com artn i nedper i a enemas v i a a e tend ing transversely'or saidvehiclefcomprising: a pair of elongate tubular trach elements; means mlyfirid to the IOWer extremity of said wall for mounting the lower endsof said track elements to said wall; an elongate support element rigidlyinterconnecting "the upper end i of each track element and said We'llat'a positionspaced upwardly irom said mounting means, said' sizp portelement rigidly holdingthe upper ends of sa d traclr elements forwardlyspaced from said wall whereby saidtracl}; elements extend. in par? allelsm upwardly and forwardly of said wallj a cha r-line member includingasfeat: element and a h el; e Garriagerneans mending area: tlyely shorttubular 'member fixed to eac h we or: said member and sleeving theadjacent track me t; a roller carried at of'ppos'itesid Breach tubularmember and engagedw'th opposite sides of the tract; element sleeved byhe tubularineni: ber ior mounting said chairlilre 'm ember inter mediatesaid track elements for mbvemehtie a path substantially parallel to saidtrack element whereby the position of sa" m ember within sa dcompartment can be varied detent means carried by each o f 'said tubularin mbers and stir: mally engaged With cooperating means char nitd by sad trach elements for'holding sa dcarriage e n i pre e c e po i i stradesmen an said traclr elements wlier the relative ition of saidmember within said'compartment may be P essman ed: rr e"mot fi' ee s wearria e and n e in sham s-f mitting means associated therewith; andmeans for simultaneously moving said deterit means olit oi engagementwith said; cooperating means to free sa d tubular 'membersfofmovementIon itudi nally of said traclfz elementsimovement e is mebers i 'di e i i lge member upwardly" andiorwardfi We? ee per menmovement. creamedbu lar members in the opposite direction moving sa dchairhire memberrea'rwa rdly' anddown wardly Wl'tI lill saidcompartment:

en ad ustable seat 'ifoif an} operatorv of a veh cle, comprising: a pairof tub "at" t rack e lei merits; means for rigidly rnitiiiriting saidtrack em nts when t e b t scemibeftifiefitibf I one ipfata forward Hngangle to the verticaljatubular car riage sleeving each track elementand movable longitudinally thereof; a chair-like inember i neluding aseat and a back rest; means for securlng one of said carriages to eachside of said member whereb said member is movable with said carriages asthe same move longitudinally ofsaid track elements; an elongate torquetransm ttlng means transversely arranged beneath said member; alaterally extending arm rigidly carried at each end of said means; meanspivotally connecting the free end 01" each arm to the ad acent carriagefixed to each side of said member; a link pivotally connected at one endto each mountmg means; means pivotally connecting a link to each end ofsaid elongate means whereby the latter is movable in an arcuate pathfixed by said links; at least one torsion spring sleeving said elongatemeans; means anchoring one end of said spring to said elongate means;means for connecting the opposite end of said spring to a link; saidspring creating forces tending to move said carriages upwardly on saidtrack elements to carry said member upwardly and forwardly within saidcompartment; means carried by each carriage and engageable with aselected one of a plurality of means longitudinally spaced on each trackelement for holding said carriages in one of a plurality of preselectedpositions on said elements; and means, including manually controlledmeans, for withdrawing said means from engagement with the means of saidtrack elements whereby said carriages may be moved relative to saidelements to adjust the position of said member within said compartment.

5. An adjustable seat for an operator of a vehicle, comprising: a pairof tubular track elements; means for rigidly mounting said trackelements within the operators compartment of the vehicle in parallelrelationship at a forwardly extending angle to the vertical; a tubularcarriage sleeving each track element; a roller element fixed to theopposite ends of each carriage at opposite sides thereof and engageablewith the track member to which the carriage is mounted; said rollerelements supporting said carriages on said track elements for movementlongitudinally thereof; means for securing one of said carriages to eachside of said member whereby said member is movable with said carriagesas the same move longitudinally of said track elements; a torquetransmitting rod transversely arranged beneath said member; a laterallyextending arm rigidly carried at each end of said rod; means pivotallyconnecting the free end of each arm to the adjacent carriage fixed toeach side of said member; a link pivotally connected at one end to eachmounting means; means pivotally connecting a link to each end of saidrod whereby said rod is movable in an arcuate path fixed by said links;at least one torsion spring sleeving said rod; means anchoring one endof said spring to said rod; means for connecting the opposite end ofsaid spring to a link; said spring creating forces tending to move saidcarriages upwardly on said track elements to carry said member upwardlyand forwardly within said compartment; means carried by each carriageand engageable with a selected one of a plurality of meanslongitudinally spaced on each track element for holding said carriagesin one of a plurality of preselected positions on said elements; andmeans, including manually controlled means, for withdrawing said meansfrom engagement with the means of said track elements whereby saidcarriages may be moved relative to said elements to adjust the positionof said member within said compartment.

6. An adjustable seat for an operator of a vehicle having an operatorscompartment defined in part by a substantially vertical wall extendingtransversely of said vehicle, comprising: a pair of elongate tubulartrack elements; means spacedly fixed to the lower extremity of said wallfor mounting the lower ends of said track elements to said wall; anelongate support element rigidly interconnecting the upper end of eachtrack element and said wall at a position spaced upwardly from saidmounting means, said support element rigidly holding the upper ends ofsaid track elements forwardly spaced from said wall whereby said trackelements extend in parallelism upwardly and forwardly of said wall; achair-like member including a seat element and a back rest; carriagemeans fixed to opposite sides of said member and each sleeving a trackelement for mounting said member intermediate said track elements formovement in a path substantially parallel to said track elements wherebythe position of said member within said compartment can be varied;detent means carried by said carriage means and engageable withcooperating means carried by said track elements for holding saidcarriage means in preselected positions of adjustment on said trackelements whereby the relative position of said member within saidcompartment may be preselectedly fixed; a torque transmitting member;pivotally mounted link means interconnecting the lower portion of saidtrack elements and said carriage mounting said torque transmittingmember transversely of said seat element for movement in an arcuatepath; a pair of torsion springs sleeving said torque transmittingmember, the inner ends of said springs being fixed to said torquetransmitting'member, the opposite ends thereof engaged with said linkmeans and applying reaction forces thereto in a direction to normallyurge said torque transmitting member upwardly; said link meanscomprising rigid arms carried at opposite ends of said torquetransmitting member; means pivotally connecting the free end of each armto a carriage means whereby said carr1age means are urged upwardly alongsaid track elements; and means for moving said detent means out ofengagement with the means carried by the track elements.

CHARLES W. DEMAREST. JOHN T. WILLOUGHBY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 870,692 Shepard Nov. 12, 1907 2,312,473 OHare Mar. 2, 19432,485,111 Robins Oct. 18, 1949

